Chapter 40: Asking for Sin

Limon stared at Li Ching-wei with a strange expression as she spoke as if she were some kind of savior.

After a moment, he spoke with a reluctant tone.

“Even if you say that, I’m just someone who’s been swept away by the flow of the times and turned into a rebel.”

“But you aren’t the enemy of the whole world yet.”

The last Sword Master of humanity.

If the Constellations were truly giving Players power through contracts with hidden intentions, he was the most troublesome existence to them.

If Li Tianqi’s movements were the result of a Constellation’s intervention, it wouldn’t end here.

They would move other monarchs and nations to turn Limon into an enemy of the world.

“That’s why I said I was lucky.”

‘ … Are you talking about the timing?’

“Yes.”

Li Ching-wei nodded readily.

She continued in a calm voice.

“If people had remembered the Sword Master’s fame just a little while longer, I wouldn’t have even had the chance to meet you.”

What if Limon hadn’t fallen like he had now?

The Black Dragon Clan would have eventually lost more than half of its shares and been forced to stop the World Peace Project.

On top of that, rather than being wary of the Constellations, Li Ching-wei would have ended up being sold off to take responsibility for her clan’s downfall.

“On the other hand, if people had forgotten the Sword Master’s fame too quickly, our Seven Dragons Association would have been the first to fight you.”

What if Limon had fallen too fast?

Assassins from the Seven Dragons Association might have come for him instead of Li Ching-wei.

Within the current Seven Dragons Association, where only Li Ching-wei was wary of the Constellations, they would have been more than willing to take the lead in making Limon an enemy of the world, if only because of old grudges.

If they had engaged in such an all-out war, more than half of the Seven Dragons Association would have been slaughtered, and Limon would have ended up as a fugitive after losing at least an arm.

Meanwhile, only the Constellations would have reaped the benefits.

“So, being able to meet you at the appropriate time was nothing but good luck.”

Li Ching-wei wore a beaming smile, looking immensely satisfied.

Seeing that bright smile, Limon spoke sharply.

“It seems I’m the one who suffered a disaster because you showed up at the ‘appropriate time’.”

Even assuming there was intervention from a Constellation, it was true that his meeting with Li Ching-wei had been the catalyst for Li Tianqi’s decision to actively deal with him.

In that sense, her visit itself had been a calamity for him.

Limon spoke with blatant sarcasm, but she didn’t waver. She simply nodded quietly.

“Yes, it is unfortunate.”

Limon’s eyebrows twitched.

Her voice sounded genuinely sorry.

However, while there was regret in her obsidian-clear eyes, there wasn’t a single trace of guilt.

“Do you not like my answer?”

As if reading his mind, she asked quietly.

Limon replied in a low voice.

“Do you think I’d like it?”

“No, I imagine you’d find it unpleasant.”

Li Ching-wei readily admitted the fact.

Then, looking down slightly at the sword held against her neck, she continued.

“Especially if you believe I am someone who must pay a blood debt.”

“…”

Limon didn’t bother answering.

The fact that he was still pointing his sword at her even while they talked was an action that spoke for his thoughts.

Seeing his cold face, Li Ching-wei closed her eyes.

After taking a short breath, the moment she opened her eyes again, everything changed.

“Lord Sword Master.”

—

Her voice was calmly suppressed.

Instead of playfulness, it contained reverence.

It was a call so polite that one could feel a sense of weight just by hearing it.

“The last Sword Master and the guardian deity who has protected the world with his sheer will. The cold-hearted judge and the fair absolute.”

The youthful air had vanished along with her smile.

Her expression was calm, leaving only a mature solemnity.

Her unshakable attitude made her beautiful face appear even more elegant.

“I, Li Ching-wei, descendant of the Great Black Dragon God, dare to ask you a question despite knowing my rudeness.”

The girl who had been smiling brightly until a moment ago was gone.

In her place was a superhuman whom no absolute being could look down upon, a mastermind who had held the world in her hands and toyed with it.

One of the seven masters of the Seven Dragons Association.

A noble being who inherited the true blood of a dragon.

The Black Dragon Princess stood there.

Her attitude, her face, and her voice — above all, her eyes, which reflected Limon as clearly as a transparent mirror — made that fact known.

Facing Limon, Li Ching-wei asked.

“Was it wrong of me to protect world peace by preventing wars until now?”

The World Peace Project.

It was an absurd conspiracy to bring about Limon’s downfall by robbing him of the opportunity to act as a protector of peace.

To the person involved, it was naturally unforgivable.

But could it be called wrong?

Regardless of the motive, what about the achievement of maintaining peace?

“Was it a sin to deceive the world and turn monarchs into absolute beings in order to maintain peace?”

It was a plan that artificially triggered Dungeon Bubbles and raised the status of Players to earn funds.

If judged solely by the letter of the law, it was a crime punishable by over 1,000 years in prison.

Even so, should she be punished for it as a crime?

Because she didn’t let the world economy collapse?

“Was it an error that should not have been committed to be wary of and prepare for the Constellations?”

It was a suspicion based on insufficient evidence and vague intuition, virtually no different from a conspiracy theory.

To those who worshipped the Constellations, it might be the ultimate insult.

But was it really an error to be wary of an entity of unclear identity that suddenly appeared and offered favors?

“Believing that the only way to stop the Constellations was for our Seven Dragons Association and the Sword Master to join forces — should I not have come to find you?”

The fight against the Monarch of Infinite War began because Li Ching-wei sought out Limon.

Should she be held responsible for that?

For risking everything to maintain peace out of suspicion toward the Constellations, only to be isolated even from her own clan and seek out Limon as her last hope?

“Please tell me, Sword Master.”

Limon remained silent, pointing his sword at her as he listened to her questions.

As if urging him for the answer he had been putting off, Li Ching-wei asked her final question.

“Am I a target who must pay a blood debt to you?”

He didn’t answer.

No, he couldn’t answer.

That was the core of everything.

He merely looked at Li Ching-wei in silence.

That was the reason why Limon, who never knew hesitation when swinging his sword, had not cut her down yet.

However, Li Ching-wei didn’t urge him any further.

Instead, she looked at him with quiet eyes before speaking.

“You made an oath upon your sword. You said that as long as I do not turn my back on you, you will never abandon me.”

*Tremble.*

It was at that moment.

The sword that had been pointed at her neck, the blade that had been as still as if it were fixed in place, shook for the first time.

Of course, it was a very slight tremor.

At most, it was a change of less than a millimeter that an ordinary person wouldn’t even notice, and even then, it stopped in the blink of an eye.

But Li Ching-wei could feel it.

She felt it through the sensation of her skin touching the blade and her transcendent psionic senses.

Above all, the single ripple that rose for the first time in Limon’s heart, which hadn’t wavered even after learning of the Seven Dragons Association’s conspiracy, informed her of that agitation.

“I won’t use the excuse that all of this happened before the oath.”

It was a convenient excuse.

It was a justification that could make Limon withdraw his sword immediately.

However, Li Ching-wei did not beg for her life with such temporary measures.

She simply reached out her hand slowly.

“If you believe that even a single thing I have done is wrong…”

*Slide.*

She grasped the blade that was held against her neck.

Her fingers were so slender that it seemed they would be severed instantly if Limon moved the sword even slightly.

Yet, Li Ching-wei didn’t care. Instead, she naturally supported the sword and kissed the tip of the blade.

*Drip.*

Was it because the blade was too sharp?

Or was it because of the slight tremor?

A drop of blood flowed from her slightly cut lip.

Only after the red blood had moistened her lips did she pull them away from the sword’s tip.

Then, she pulled the sword toward her, fixing the tip so it would be easy to pierce her heart, and wore a quiet smile.

“Cut me down.”

With a smile as beautiful and pure as a maiden offering herself as a sacrifice to a dragon, Li Ching-wei finished speaking.

“If that is your will, I will gladly accept it.”

—

Limon stood like a living statue, pointing his sword at Li Ching-wei for a long time.

Facing her, who was smiling brightly rather than being afraid of his sword, he asked in a low voice.

“Are you insane, or are you just a fool?”

“Which do I look like to you?”

“I can tell you’re not sane, at least.”

Limon shook his head slowly.

It was absurd enough that she had exposed the Seven Dragons Association’s conspiracy after just a little questioning.

But as if that weren’t enough, she was now willingly offering her heart to the blade, saying she would atone with her life if plotting was a sin.

In many ways, it was behavior that could only be described as crazy.

“But you’re definitely not a fool, either.”

“You flatter me.”

“I wasn’t praising you.”

He wondered what her mental structure was like for her to take his words as a compliment.

Li Ching-wei blushed and acted shy.

Looking at her, Limon let out a soft sigh.

“I was lamenting.”

It would be easy to slit her throat right now.

No matter how much she was the princess of the Black Dragon Clan, it was impossible for her to dodge or block his sword in this state.

But Limon couldn’t cut her.

He couldn’t give a proper answer to any of the questions she had asked.

Was it wrong to protect peace?

Was it a sin to support the economy?

Was it an error to be wary of the Constellations?

‘If those are sins, then I’m a sinner myself.’

As much as he was called the guardian deity of humanity, Limon had done many things to protect the world.

The mindset he had gained through that experience was that it was better to save the world by any means necessary than to let it perish fairly and squarely.

Of course, the ends couldn’t justify all means.

However, at least what the Seven Dragons Association had done was sufficiently justifiable by Limon’s standards.

‘Being wary of the Constellations is more of a natural reaction than foresight.’

For the same reason, he couldn’t blame Li Ching-wei for coming to propose to him to keep the Constellations in check.

If the Constellations could control Players to harm the world as she feared, neither the Seven Dragons Association nor Limon would be able to stop it.

Limon might be able to cut down a Constellation, but he had no way to fight against the entire world.

The Seven Dragons Association might have all the wealth in the world, but they had no means to defeat the Constellations.

In that sense, her act of waiting for his downfall to join hands with him was also correct in terms of strategy.

If he weren’t in his current fallen state, Limon would have never agreed to join hands with the Seven Dragons Association.

In fact, he had already turned down her proposal once.

‘I can’t even blame her for coming to me only after selling off nearly half of her clan’s shares.’

She was in a situation where she had already lost 49.9% of her shares.

If she lost just 0.1% more, the Black Dragon Clan might be completely dismantled.

He was supposed to condemn a girl who had come to him only after being driven into such a corner?

Limon was wild enough to be called a mad dog, but he wasn’t that much of a bastard.

And as long as he couldn’t declare that what Li Ching-wei had done was a sin, he couldn’t demand a blood debt regarding this matter.

Demanding a blood debt from someone who hadn’t committed a sin was nothing more than an act of murder.

Did it matter?

Yes, he could just ignore it all.

He could kill Li Ching-wei like this and crush the Seven Dragons Association to vent his anger.

Then the world economy would collapse, and Players who became penniless would run wild with the Constellations at their backs, causing peace to vanish cleanly.

But heroes were originally meant to be born in chaos.

If he showed overwhelming power while fighting against the Constellations in the midst of that, Limon could become an absolute being again and return to being a hero of humanity.

But Limon couldn’t do that.

Because he knew all too well what lay at the end of such a life.

That was the reason why the Age of Heroes, when the most heroes were active, became the most horrific era in history instead.

At the same time, it was the reason why, out of the thirteen Sword Masters who had reached the state of eternal youth and immortality, he had no choice but to be the last one.

Therefore, he could quit being a hero, but he couldn’t give up on being a human.